In the early 2000s, Benin reformed its sheep industry, largely because meat and milk production was insufficient to meet local demand. The objective was to r0educe imports, then estimated at an average of 60,000 tonnes of meat and 40,000 tonnes of milk annually. The African Development Fund, the African Development Bank Group’s (www.AfDB.org) concessional window, positioned itself as a key player in this reform. 

As the chief financial partner of the Milk and Meat Sectors Support Project (https://apo-opa.co/3Y4nk3M), approved in December 2008, the Fund granted funding of $39.24 million for the building of several modern facilities in 18 towns across the country. 

“Most of the planned infrastructure is complete,” notes Émile Godonou, coordinator of the project. “Water reservoirs have been built, as well as livestock farms, thousands of dairies, and small abattoirs in the towns of Calavey and Savè.”  

These facilities were constructed with the help of the decentralised authorities of the Beninese Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, local elected representatives, and direct beneficiaries. 

“This project has resulted in the establishment of three major facilities in our town,” explains Timothée Biaou, Mayor of Savè. “There's the livestock market, which allows us to buy and sell cattle, as well as sheep and goats, every week. It makes a huge contribution to, and capitalises, on the financial resources of our town’s economy. We also got an abattoir, which will significantly improve the way in which we slaughter animals, adhering to the required hygiene guidelines. Lastly, we’re benefiting from the restoration of the dam, so that livestock can find water and that farmers can easily water their herds.”  

Bio Sarako, the Mayor of Banikoara, is also delighted with the 30 km of roads that have been built throughout his town. “These are well-developed roads built in such a way that dairy products and other agricultural produce can be transported on them,” he says. “We’ve also benefited from the construction of the Alborie livestock market.” 

The project, completed in 2017, recorded satisfactory results between 2012 and 2017: the annual mortality rate fell from 12 percent to 3 percent for cattle, from 15 percent to eight percent for sheep, from 15 percent to 9 percent for goats and from 19 percent to six percent for pigs. 

Furthermore, milk yield increased (from 212 litres of milk per cow per lactation to 316 litres by the end of the project), as did meat productivity, generating additional production of over 79,000 tonnes of meat. In addition, the population needs coverage rate, of animal products by national production, which was previously 35.6 percent (2012), rose to 36.3 percent (2017) for milk, and from 52.3 percent to 69.83 percent for meat. 

The meat and milk sectors therefore figure among the flagship projects in Benin's “Government Action Programme” (2016-2021), a five-year development framework, due to their contribution to food and nutrition security and to job creation and income generation. 

In 2021, Benin submitted the Milk and Meat Sub-Sector Development and Livestock Enterprise Promotion Support Project (https://apo-opa.co/4gO9HNO) for funding. The aim of the project was to improve the productivity and profitability of the sheep industry in a sustainable and climate-smart way. It will be implemented over a five-year period (2022-2026) with a loan of $15.17 million and a grant of $13.40 million from the African Development Fund. 

The project includes the restoration of 10 water reservoirs to supply water to livestock and the construction of 57 boreholes for drinking troughs and solar-powered submersible pumps, nine of which will be connected to water towers. Other undertakings are planned, including the development of 2,500 hectares of grazing areas, the preparatory work for and demarcation of 500 km of animal corridors, and the construction of three livestock markets and three abattoirs.